Fall registration opens at Grossmont, Cuyamaca colleges

With the start of fall semester Aug. 20, open registration is just days away for almost 30,000 students working toward university transfer, training for high-skill jobs or expanding their horizons at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.

The cost of the courses is $46 per unit, with most classes offering three units of college credit. Online registration for regular semester classes opens July 9 for all students and ends Aug. 19.

For first-time college students, the fall semester kicks off the much-anticipated Grossmont-Cuyamaca College Promise, which provides a year of tuition-free classes at either campus with the pledge to complete orientation, assessments and devising an education plan, and maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA as a full-time student. With more than 3,000 course sections offered in traditional, online and hybrid formats, the two colleges provide a robust selection of classes to choose from.

Grossmont College is offering Saturday-only, semester-length classes, including new, experimental courses, Public Art Painting (ART 299A), and World Beer Styles (Culinary Arts 299B). The art class covers negotiation, designing, budgeting and installation of public art and students will collaborate on painting murals for a public context. The beers class is an introduction to beers produced locally and around the world. Open to students 21 and older, the course covers the history, production, taste and analysis, and the pairing of food and beer. Home Cooking Essentials (CA 105), as well as dance classes in Hip Hop are other Saturday offerings.

The chemistry of crime is the focus of an introductory course in Forensic Chemistry (CHEM 113) in which students gain experience with gas and liquid chromatography and spectroscopy. Want to have a deeper understanding of the events of the world? The roots of global terrorism, religious beliefs and strife, the denuclearization of North Korea, border conflicts and more are covered in Human and Cultural Geography (Geography 130).

The Office Professional Training (OPT) Program offers a one-semester training program for office professional positions specializing in accounting, insurance and office support, and will host an orientation 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, July 26. For questions about the OPT Program or to RSVP for the orientation, contact Debra Allen at 619-644-7247.

At Cuyamaca College, a course in Hybrid, Electric and Alternative Fuels (AUTO 129) is offered Saturdays to accommodate automotive technicians interested in expanding their knowledge of the latest fuel-saving vehicles rolling off the assembly lines.

Also in the auto tech. program, a new cohort is starting up in the two-year General Motors-ASEP program, which alternates on-campus instruction and paid work experience for sponsored student trainees at GM auto dealerships. A mandatory ASEP orientation (AUTO 200) is scheduled Oct. 15-20, with classes set to begin Oct. 22.

The Secret Life of Plants (BIO-122) examines how plants grow, develop and respond to stimuli and also covers contemporary topics such as basics in genetic engineering and biotechnology.

With the recent dedication of a new half-acre vineyard at Cuyamaca College, students can enroll in classes leading to a Viticulture Technician Apprenticeship certificate offered through the Ornamental Horticulture program. The required classes for the certificate program – the only one of its kind in the state when launched in 2016 – are Edibles in Urban Landscapes for Apprentices (OH 105A); Landscape Construction for Apprentices (OH 221A); Landscape Irrigation for Apprentices (OH 235A); Plant Pest Control for Apprentices (OH 130A); and Fundamentals of Ornamental Horticulture for Apprentices (OH 120A).

Apprentices completing the program will be prepared for employment in all aspects of the viticulture and winery industries which are facing a growing demand for skilled workers knowledgeable about the technical aspects of producing wine.

Both colleges also allow graduates to seamlessly progress toward baccalaureate degrees, thanks to agreements Grossmont and Cuyamaca have signed with Point Loma Nazarene University. The four baccalaureates offered through PLNU’s Adult Degree Completion program are designed to fit the needs of working adults, with courses taught by PLNU professors offered either entirely online or as hybrid classes. The PLNU bachelor’s degree programs offered at Grossmont College are in Nursing and Computer Information Technology. At Cuyamaca College, the baccalaureate programs are in Child Development and Organizational Management.

Information on admissions and registering for classes is available online at www.gcccd.edu/now/

Grossmont College is located at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon. Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in the community of Rancho San Diego.For more information, go to www.grossmont.edu or www.cuyamaca.edu